COPD Foundation Blog

Find inspirational stories, tips from the COPD Coach, events, and current news on the COPD community blog. Have a question regarding COPD that you would like to share with our community? Contact our COPD Coach. Coaches Corner is aimed at providing information for individuals with COPD to take to your doctor, and is not in any way intended to be medical advice. If you would like to submit a question to the Coaches Corner email us at coachescorner@copdfoundation.org. We would love to hear your questions and comments.

Live in the Moment

As a baker, Scott Johnson says his job can cause some difficulty with his COPD; but that doesn’t stop him from doing what he loves. In his words, “Even though I do have the disease I don’t let it bring me down. I just enjoy the day and live in the moment.”

Johnson was diagnosed with COPD in his 40s. He says he had asthma for years.

“Working in the bakery, I have my ups and downs and high humidity is a real struggle for me. Anything that’s really dusty or has a real strong smell sets me off,” Johnson says of his job that goes from 3AM to 11AM. “I’m used to it [the hours] now, and I’ve been in the profession for 32 years.

“I am not on oxygen yet, and I have my good days and bad days. On my bad days I force myself to do things—I’ll take breaks when I run out of breath—but I get things done.”

Living in Minnesota, Johnson says the bitter winters can be difficult, and the summers are humid, which also makes breathing difficult.

“On those days, I just don’t do a lot outside, because if I do, I struggle with it. But I don’t want COPD to rule my life,” he says.

Although now he has to do things at a slower pace, he still does them.

“I’ll walk in the evenings when it’s cooler. If it’s humid outside, I tend to stay inside and read. Other than that, we have a boat and I like to go out on that,” he says.

Johnson quit smoking three years ago, after smoking for around 30 years.

“When the doctor told me I had COPD, I wasn’t surprised, but it made me stop and think. It didn’t make me stop smoking at the time, but as things progressed and I had breathing tests done and I realized I needed to stop,” he says.

At the end of a workday, Johnson says he’s exhausted, but he still gets up at the crack of dawn every day to go to work.

“I know I have COPD, but I don’t want people to feel sorry for me. I can do daily tasks, and the things that I can’t do, I will at least try,” he says.

Johnson’s piece of advice for other individuals with COPD?

“Don’t let it bring you down, because then the disease wins, and that’s not what I live for.”